1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a toolbox assembly, and in particular to a toolbox for removable mounting in the box of a pickup truck.
In some jurisdictions, a firearm cannot legally be carried loose in a motor vehicle, i.e. a firearm must be locked in a trunk, which is not available on a pickup truck, or carried in a locked container on or in the vehicle. Since the advent of the pickup truck a great many containers of various shapes and sizes have been designed for mounting in the box of vehicles to carry tools and other valuable items or simply to protect things from the environment.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Examples of containers for use on pickup trucks are disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,684, issued to K. Miller et al on Feb. 10, 1981 U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,821, issued to L. M. Gillet on May 12, 1981; U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,158, issued to W. L. Matlack on May 21, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,577, issued to J. C. Pearson, Jr. et al on Jun. 3, 1997; U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,473, issued to S. L. Hagan et al on Nov. 23, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,868, issued to A. C. Paradis on Dec. 7, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,971, issued to C. R. Coleman et al on Dec. 28, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,319, issued to P. O'Brien on May 30, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,007, issued to E. A. Porter et al on Jun. 20, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,087, issued to M. Lance et al on Mar. 20, 2001 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,976, issued to C. R. Coleman et al on Jul. 3, 2001.
Many of the patented or commercially available containers are somewhat complicated and/or difficult to mount on a vehicle. Moreover, to a large extent, existing toolboxes and other containers are designed for more or less permanent attachment to a vehicle. Thus, with a toolbox in place, certain areas of a truck box are not available for other purposes such as for mounting a fifth wheel hitch. Fifth wheels for pickup trucks are usually mounted between the wheel wells on the floor of a pickup truck box. A permanently mounted container near the tailgate of a pickup truck can present difficulties with respect to the mounting of a hitch or the removal of the container when connecting a trailer to the vehicle.